GUILIN, CHINA — In Guilin, where limestone peaks rise like ancient set pieces left behind after filming has wrapped, Hollywood legend and Chinese actor Jackie Chan was introduced as Global Ambassador for China Travel under Trip.com.
The setting was a large-scale gathering in southern China held at a golf course, attended by roughly 2,000 guests, according to organizers. It was the nearest thing to a Coachella-style festival in this region of the country.
Food arrived in abundance, followed by choreographed cultural performances and fashion presentations, topped off with Chinese electronic dance music fused with traditional references.
Chan suddenly appeared not through a conventional stage entrance but via a raft drifting across mist and water effects, as though the landscape itself had been recruited into the production. It was the sort of arrival that left everyone in attendance not entirely sure where the stage ended and the martial arts legend began.
Dressed in all white, he spoke with a grip on nostalgia about his earlier era of filmmaking, reflecting on his evolution from making culturally relevant films in China to starring in action movies in Hollywood and back again.
His message soon shifted into something closer to a mandate than a memory.
“It used to be that when I made films, it was just to make films. Later on, I realized, as an actor, you have the responsibility to bring your culture, to bring your movie, around the world,” Chan said.
He later made it clear that his main mission on the international stage was to invite the world to see his homeland.
“To welcome the world to China, to see Jackie Chan films, to see me, and to see the real China.”
By the end of the night, it was also announced that nearly 80 countries now have broader access to China under updated travel policies allowing visa-free entry for many nationalities, though requirements still vary depending on the country of origin, with the Philippines and the United States still excluded from the expanded visa-free program for foreign visitors.
